Consistency is the key Every Day

After a four year journey of  elementary principal leadership, I'm retiring.  My last official day is June 30, 2025.  After 31 years in education, it's time for me to move over for new leadership.  I look at is as an opportunity for my colleagues to have access to new energy and I look at it as an opportunity for me to re-direct my focus and prioritize things that have always been the most important things, but sometimes got lost in the shuffle.   

For most of 31 years I feel like I have devoted a lot of time to this teaching/leading occupation of education.  I have given up time with my own children to do things for others.  I regret that.  I hope my children understand that and plan to take advantage of the guilt I feel and call on me a lot to help them out.  I hope to give back to them some time in the form of being a helper like my parents and in-laws were for me.  

I'm ready for the last push for consistency during summer school.  My Supt. asked me today why I was in the building working during the week before Summer school begins.  My answer to him was, I want to finish strong.  I am going to take some PTO.  My goal is to not ever have another Monday of work.  But, that doesn't mean that the building is not prepared for teachers and students to return on Tuesday.  The halls are decorated. There are baskets of supplies.  A wall of writing hall of fame is ready and I have prepared lots of resources for teachers to use. 

I chose the theme this summer, "The Summer of Storytelling."  I want students to fall in love with stories, stories that their peers write, stories that authors write and stories that they write.  Even though I am encouraging them to use Google Docs to write, as well as paper and pencil, I don't want them to spend the summer playing games on their computers and I don't want teachers to feel like that's ok either.  I'm planning on ending strong.  I hope they are too! 

So, here's to my last summer school.  When I leave at the end of June, I'll be on perpetual summer break...with a few snow showers thrown in during February.  

Give me the next 10 words...

 

How can I effectively support teachers and students?  As I try to remember all the things that I have learned in leadership classes, university classes, and professional development experiences the answer usually comes down to conversations with educator's that I have connected with.  For the most part, I have served alongside very dedicated, value driven, patient and kind educators.   

One educator who always comes to mind is Susan Doty.  She was a social studies teacher  and we had some amazing conversations about school and life and politics and she could tell some great stories with that southern gravelly voice. These memories prompted me to begin  looking for online clips of The West Wing because each Monday morning, during the tenure of The West Wing television show, we would get together and hash through the Sunday night episode and how President Bartlett, played by Martin Sheen, managed to get his way and save the day.  

One montage I came across this evening was the "Top 10 Jedd Bartlett scenes" on YouTube. I began to watch through them and in one he is sparring with James Brolin's character, his opponent, in a presidential debate.  The opponent gives a fairly contrived answer to a question from the moderator and in response President Bartlett says, "Okay, give me the next 10 words."  That struck a chord with me.  We have the big idea, but what comes next?

So think about it; after each point below: what are the next 10 words?  

• School leaders wear many hats. 
• Schools shouldn't be measured by test scores.  
• Student apathy stands in the way of greatness.  
• Clear communication is necessary with parents to insure school success.  
• Read 20 minutes each night.  
• Rigor in lessons creates confidence. 

This is my goal 2022-2023:  master the details.   Last year I felt like I kept track of the big ideas, but I left out some details. Many times I didn't have the next 10 words.  Who knows, perhaps each bullet point above will be the title of a blog post with "the next 10 words" about the details, as I see them. 

Leadership and Goals for Decision Making

I'm making my Sunday night rounds through the internet.  Tonight I have been revisiting articles and blog posts I have written.  It lets me hear my voice again and reflect on decisions that were made in the past and figure out new ideas for the future.  I encourage everyone to do that every so often. 

For me reflection leads to goal-setting.  My goal for the next school year is to do better at making connections to all stakeholders in our school community.  So that begs the reflection of what decisions did I make this past year that I should have included others in the process to get ideas and feedback.  I feel  accountable for what happens in my building.  Did that sometimes make me less likely to consider other's ideas?  

Here is a link to a blog post made on the NERDY Book Club blog a few years back, if you are so inclined to read... good stuff here: https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/read-alouds-every-day-every-student-by-lucretia-brattin/

Half a year in...

I am half a year into a vocation that I have shied away from previously, school principal.  Today was a day, and there have been very few, when I thought to myself, "what were you thinking?"  It seemed like a million things did not go well.  There seemed to be tense moments with colleagues over interpretation of a school policy, my feelings were hurt by something silly that happened, and I second guessed a decision and didn't follow through with what I felt was the right thing to do.  Were these things uncomfortable? Yes!  Did I learn from these experiences? Yes! 

10 years ago I would have come home to begin looking at Pinterest boards fantasizing about a career change.  But, then 45 year-old Mrs. Brattin and now 55 year-old Mrs. Brattin are worlds apart in their ability to regroup and move forward.  

This evening I am reminding myself of my determination to make a difference, to have confidence in my decision making and to block out the noise of self-doubt.  Finally, I have decided that I should begin taking my own advice from the 5th grade leadership class that I have been facilitating this past month:  work within my circle of control, be confident and use any power I have for positivity.   

Tomorrow is a  snow day! The alarm is off!  Stay safe, stay warm.   

2020 Lessons Learned

I don't want to look back on 2020 and think, "Oh woe is me."  Yes, there were some woeful times.  Losing the opportunity to finish school with my students at school was just...weird. Not getting to see my grandchild on Easter Sunday was sad. The summer was odd too. No vacation. There have been very few summers in 33 years of marriage that we haven't taken off for somewhere, anywhere. But, not last summer.  

Mom's open heart surgery with a quadruple bypass seemed surreal.  Although I know it was very real.  No sitting in waiting rooms, just waiting on phone calls.  I pre-occupied myself by continuing to teach summer school that week.  My sister sat outside the hospital in a lawn chair, waiting.  

Not celebrating Thanksgiving with my parents was disheartening.  And, I missed my Grandma Isabel's dressing recipe that I have tried to make and just can't recreate like my mom can. 

The most difficult thing was losing my father-n-law. There. Are. Simply. No. Words. 

Teaching school has been a bit of a challenge. Group work, partner work, shoulder reads, simply sitting in a circle and passing around papers for revision is not happening this year, unless it happens through technology.  (Germs, Ugh!)  And, that's ok, but not my preferred way of doing things. It is preparing them for their future, probably as much as anything we do. Technology based communication is after all their real conversations. 

Christmas was the most traditional thing that happened this year.  We gathered, we ate, we opened presents, we took home left-overs and it snowed.  I even put up more than one tree.  Now, if I could prioritize taking those trees down, and stop procrastinating.  Maybe tomorrow.  

So, what are the "lessons learned?"  I mean, that is the title of the blog post. I guess that the lessons are not that earth-shattering. Life goes on and we re-adjust to a different way of getting through the challenges that life throws us. One thing I know, one lesson I have learned is keep those dear to you close, if not in location, at least within a phone call, email or text's reach.  Do not save conversations for the next day or week.  Dial the number. 

What am I reading...?

What am I reading...?

So far this summer I have read All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn, Five Presidents by Clint Hill, and My Jasper June by Laurel Snyder.   I am currently reading the The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy by Nora Roberts.  It's a little light romance reading to begin summer vacation.  Yesterday I bought Separate  by Steve Luxenberg.  The secondary title says "The story of Plessy V. Ferguson and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation."  I also just ordered Last Boat out of Shanghai by Helen Zia and The Hardest Job in the World by John Dickerson. And, of course, I ordered Conner's weekly dose of literature in the form of Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean.  I'd say I'm headed toward the serious side with my reading and that's probably a good thing.  Serious reading for serious times.  

We just finished summer school in my little corner of the world.  I gave kids a chance to read anything they wanted for around 30 minutes a day.  The students that I had are my incoming 6th graders.  They hadn't experienced my opportunity to read anything you want for -- minutes yet.  It took them a while to get on board with this.  At first I think they had an idea that they needed to pick something that they thought I would like for them to read.  However, by around the second week of school they had figured out that I really meant choose anything and they began to make more personal choices.  I still stand behind the notion of the only way to get better at reading is to read.  Read what you want. Re-read things you liked.  

Usually during the summer I pick up old favorites, but like I said before we are in serious times and the best way that I know of for me to learn more about important, serious things is to read.  I can watch all the news shows available on all the channels I have at my fingertips.  But, I won't really understand everything until I dive into the scholarship from others who have done the work to present information about things that have shaped who we are.  I still have confidence in authors and historians to tell me things about history that I need to know to make decisions about how I want to contribute to the future.  I need to know the facts, the true facts, in order to speak to all the misleading "stuff" that students may come into my classroom with that they have heard from television or social media.  If I can hold up a book and say to them, "but, what about this," I can present credible information in a time up of much mis-information. At this point, the printed word is where I choose to go for answers.

Happy Reading! Only...6 weeks to prepare before school begins! 

So, you want to be a School Principal...

Working as a school counselor early in my career, I received a behind the scenes glimpse at what actually goes on in a school office. And, If you have not been a principal, or a school secretary, you have no idea what a principal or a school office has to deal with on a daily basis.  I didn’t, but I quickly figured it out. Principals have to make decisions about situations in a snap. Sometimes, they have time to think about what they want to do and that can make the process even more agonizing. The internal debate can go on forever and even when they make the call, the decision continues to rage within their brain.   After being a small part of those decisions for two years, I decided it was time for me to go back to the classroom. 

My  current principal, Mr. Tim Jordan, is an educator that I mentored when he began his teaching career.  I have watched him progress from teacher to Math specialist, School Counselor and now my Principal. He has gone from someone who sought my advice to someone I seek advice from, frequently.  Our history also makes me a little protective of him, even when I don't agree with him.

Principals have to consider all sides of the story, all consequences, all influences on future decisions, all the students and the parents they will impact.  And, how will their teachers react to what policies they are making.  Parents may disagree with a policy and leave their office and they may not see each other for a while, but when a principal and a teacher disagree they have to face each other in the hallway everyday.  That can get tricky. Building relationships of trust is very important. Hopefully that can be achieved, sometimes it is not.

Some of us who are teachers have administration degrees and we catch ourselves saying, “Well, if I were in charge…” Well, we don’t know what we would do because we aren’t in charge and we don’t know all the details.  Principals have to keep the details to themselves because they can not tell us the details that went into their decisions.  And, if we were in their shoes we might have come to the same conclusion.  We might not have, but we can’t ever know that.  

Principals have taken the leap that most of us will not. There is crazy bravery there.  The principal you are dealing with at the moment, may not be your cup of tea.  But, I guarantee that in the moment they make a decision, even one you don't like, they are doing what they feel is best for kids.  Maybe not what you think is best for kids, but you are not them. 

These men and women are not “Yes” people.  They do not make decisions because the decision will make them popular.  Think about all the decisions they have had to make, this year in particular. Scary stuff. Sometimes everyone in the room is in agreement. But, a lot of the time, they are not.  They do not seek to be put on a pedestal because that is not where they belong or where they want to be. As educators we are all in this together.  Principals are dedicated to their craft and for that I have respect for the task they have undertaken. 

So, for anyone reading this and considering this as a career path, I say to you, toughen up.  You're going to need to have thick skin for this job. 

So, here’s an enormous THANK YOU and HAPPY PRINCIPAL'S DAY to all these principals, some still working, some retired, that I have worked alongside.

Mr. Lowell McInturff, Wheaton

Mr. Bob Borman, Southwest

Mr. Jeff Swadley, Southwest

Mr. Mark Mayo, Southwest

Mrs. Judy Randall

Mr. Terry Winton, Exeter

Mr. Robert Taylor, Exeter

Mrs. Tina Nolan, Exeter

Mrs.Tamara Kester, Exeter

Mr. Tim Jordan, Exeter

Ms. Ashley Fly, Exeter

And, there’s one other that I want to pay tribute to… Mrs. Christy Hermansen, my sister! 

HAPPY PRINCIPAL’S DAY! 

UPDATE 6/14/22 (Now that I have been a principal for a year):  And a few principals that were not my principal directly, but have been so important to me in my teaching journey...

Mrs. Janel Riley

Mrs. Catherine Weaver

Mrs. Mindi Gates